World in the Satin Bag

Amazon (Retailer) vs. Macmillan (Publisher): Epic Battle or Silly Mistake? (Update)

/

(Some new links and stuff have been added on the bottom.) The short version: Amazon pulled all of Macmillan’s titles (print and otherwise) from their website due, apparently, to the publisher’s desire to raise ebook prices. Speculation says this is because Amazon wants people to buy the Kindle, making higher prices for ebooks bad news when it’s a big publisher pushing the price game. But there are also speculations that this is in response to Macmillan’s deals with Apple, about which Amazon is not at all happy. The long version: I’ll send you to others for that, because I don’t want to simply repeat what has already been said. There’s Scalzi’s three posts on the subject, then Writtenwyrdd’s take, and Tobias S. Buckell’s take. My take: I can’t help feeling like this is going to end up poorly for Amazon. Yes, playing hardball seems like it would work in principle, but I don’t think Amazon has seriously considered the competition coming their way via the Nook, Apple’s iPad (a minor nuisance right now), and the dozens of other companies pushing the ePub format. It could go bad for the publishers too, I suppose, but Amazon is the one that really should be rethinking its business model right now. Because if the Nook and the other ePub format folks take off, then Amazon will be unable to compete or negotiate because the publishers will no longer want to work with them on electronic format (or print format even, since B&N does both, and generally at the same prices as Amazon). Amazon will have to consider pushing other media over books. But what do you think? (An even more detailed analysis of what is going on can be found here at Tobias S. Buckell’s blog and at Jay Lake’s blog. You can read Macmillan’s response here.)

World in the Satin Bag

The New Zombie Paradigm?

/

One of my old TAs from the University of California, Santa Cruz had this interesting thing to say about zombies: When we’re as sick of zombies as they are of being alive, when the total overextension of the metaphor shades all things blankly and uniformly under the prospect of undeadness, a fantasy bright spark I’ve been having: how about a post-Reconstruction deep South story of metayers and croppers forced to work too close the recently buried, putting rentier capitalist-backed structural racism back where it belongs (that is to say, where it still remains insistently, against any illusions otherwise, in the house of the never dead and never gone), bringing zombies back to the fields, and above all, taking this as theme song and title? A screen play to be pitched, perhaps, if only the catcher wasn’t a Hollywood who won’t stop making Resident Evil films. A curious idea indeed! If only the catcher wasn’t a Hollywood obsessed with repeating itself. If only.

World in the Satin Bag

Dear Authors: Please Don’t Stand Up For What’s Right (Make Profit Instead)

/

There’s been a lot of talk about whitewashing covers lately. I haven’t brought it up here yet because I didn’t think there was much else to say that hadn’t already been said elsewhere, and to greater effect. Then someone wrote the following: But there was one response from people who were justifiably angry that I do not think was practical, and that was the expectation that the author should have spoken up publicly and denounced this cover. Even if, these people said, even if authors really have no control over their covers and it’s all the publisher’s doing, she should make a stand! This is roughly equivalent to expecting someone who has just acquired their dream job to curse their boss for doing something wrong. In front of a packed press room. While the boss is standing beside them on the podium. Economics do not equal ethics, but I think it is important to consider how much we demand of people who could endanger their livelihood and their futures by speaking out. Great change has been made by brave people who have spoken out on social injustices committed by their employers, but they paid and paid and paid for it. There is real and substantial risk, and it is sometimes hard to gauge the cost-benefits to society of taking it, especially when we are talking about someone who wrote a story about a woman of colour who could well end up unable to do so ever again if she is decided to be a troublemaker not worth publishing. The short of it is this: if you’re afraid of losing a publishing deal for standing up for what is right (i.e. fighting against whitewashed covers, a.k.a. white people on covers for books with “colored” characters), then don’t say anything. Those who get angry with you for not doing anything are just jerks. To which I say, “Bullcrap.” While I understand the fear and the apprehension to act against any form of institutionalized (or even accidental) racism, you can’t keep quiet about it while assuming that that no-action is ethically appropriate. Why? Because it makes anyone who doesn’t say something, who doesn’t stand up for what’s right complicit in the wrong being committed, particularly if that person continues to participate in the institution committing the wrong (in this case, publishing). Complicit, you say? Yes, because presumably that author is going to make money (or already has) by selling a book whose cover is the product of a racist system/accident. Said author is literally profiting off of racism, even if he or she had no control over the artwork for the cover (silence is complicity). If you don’t see the ethical problems there (and I don’t know if the original author does), then there’s a disconnect between your reality and the reality the rest of us live in. So, please, authors far and wide, do not stand up for what you believe to be right. Please, profit off of a system that under-represents people of color and women (for whatever reason) and participates in a racist scheme (even if it is accidental). Give in to fear and help the institution of racism to continue to permeate our industries. A big middle finger to all those Civil Rights activists who were assaulted by fire hoses or beaten by police officers (or murdered) for having the audacity to face their fear and stand up for their rights. Big middle finger indeed. P.S.: To the point about telling your racist boss off for being racist — explain to me why you would want to work for a racist if you yourself are not of the same mindset? Exactly. I also think the author isn’t giving enough credit to the power of the Internet. If a whole bunch of authors writing about traditionally marginalized figures started getting “offed” by the publishing houses for speaking up against whitewashing, do you honestly think that the Internet wouldn’t be on top of that like a diabetic on the last insulin shot on the planet?

World in the Satin Bag

RIP: J. D. Salinger

/

I know he wasn’t a science fiction or fantasy author, but J. D. Salinger, author of the controversial and classic Catcher in the Rye passed away yesterday. His death was apparently due to natural causes (which is a fancy way of saying “died of old age”). There’s a lot more at the link that might be of interest (it details a lot of his life, particularly as a writer). I read Catcher in the Rye many years ago and had a love/hate relationship with it. On the one hand, I enjoyed it; on the other, I didn’t get what all the hype was about. But, looking back, I think it’s because of the world I live in now, which doesn’t deem the controversial elements of Catcher in the Rye as particularly controversial at all (cursewords especially). Still, Salinger was a fine author who made one hell of an impact on the literary world, and whether you love or hate his book is irrelevant. May he rest in peace!

World in the Satin Bag

Things You’d Think Female Movie Characters Would Have Learned

/

…or why having key chains full to the teeth with keys and knickknacks for things no human being can possibly need for every moment of the day is really a bad idea. First things first, a disclaimer: I am talking very specifically about female characters in movies. I am not talking about real women (though movie characters are, I should hope, played by real women). This entire post is talking about fictional representations of women in the movies. Now that that’s out of the way, I would like to pose a question preceded by a discussion. It seems odd to me that so many action-oriented movies (and in this sense, I mean movies in which the plot, characters, and scenery are all active, such as might be common in, say, a horror or action movie) represent women as being unholy wielders of absurdly exaggerated key-blobs (for that is what they are, when you get right down to it). The oddity of this comes in the form of a familiar re-occurrence: every time you see a woman running from another person, specifically to escape, and they have one of these key-blobs, there is always a frantic moment at the very end where she proceeds to get caught precisely because she can’t find the right key for the *insert object here* (typically a door or a car, or both). This is not at all like what is more typical of every other character with moderately accentuated key-blobs; in such moments such characters may be caught simply because fear overwhelmed them and they couldn’t put the key correctly into the appropriate hole. Curiously enough, female characters haven’t learned their lesson. They continue to have these key-blobs, something that is generally not true of male characters; in fact, if ever there is a moment where a male character fails to escape due to a key failure, it is because of the innuendo implied above, not because they couldn’t find the appropriate key. Evolution, I’m afraid, does not apply to female movie characters, for whatever reason. And all of the above leads me to my question: if we are to take out the obvious answer of “misogyny” (or a more “friendly” term might be “gender stereotyping”), how are we to account for female representation in film where habits that historically have proven to be disastrous are still held? One must assume, for this question, that disastrous implies death (or, at the very least, a sound beating that one would not want to remember in the end). How, I ask you, how?

World in the Satin Bag

Book Magnet Entry #3: Null Pointer and Star Strikers by Ken McConnell

/

The third entry for my Book Magnet Project is in, and late (because of me). There’s a story, though: I picked up the letter containing Mr. McConnell’s magnet and bookmarks and put it into a book, where it remained for quite some time due to my mind deciding it didn’t want to memorize where I had placed the stuff. But, I found the magnet again, and the bookmarks, and want to tell you all about this very interesting set of books by Ken McConnell! So, let’s start with this first:Description of Null Pointer: The man in the cubicle beside him was dead. The police say it was a heart attack, but programmer Joshua Jones knows better. A message he found in the dead man’s code points to a psychotic hacker who can strike through the internet, leaving no trace. Relying on the advice from his tech savvy friends, Joshua must solve the mystery of who the killer is before becoming the killer’s next victim. It sounds interesting, right? The author was worried that it might not be specfic-y enough, but a story about a hacker that kills people through the Internet? That’s pretty damn specfic-y to me! You can find Null Pointer on Amazon.com or in the various other formats and locations listed here (you might also be curious to know that the novel can be found for free on a blog and in various ebook formats, including the big boys). So, check it out! Might be a thrilling read for the cyberpunk enthusiast!Description of Starstrikers: Starstrikers is a military space opera that takes place during a thousand year war between two galactic civilizations. It captures the strategy of fleet admirals, the bravery of common spacers and the adventures of an elite special forces team as they all struggle against a powerful enemy war lord with devastating new technology. The description leaves much to the imagination, but if you’re into space opera, it might be the one for you! The novel can be found on Amazon.com and loads of other places listed here (in print and digital format). It’s also free in several formats available at the aforementioned link. About the Author: Ken McConnell is a writer of SF and Mystery novels and short stories. He works as a software tester and writes fiction in his spare time. He has maintained a blog about writing and technology since 1998. You can follow him on Twitter (user name: KenMcConnell). You can find more information about Mr. McConnell and his fiction at his website. There you have it folks! Feel free to check out Mr. McConnell’s books and his website. ———————————————————- There you have it. If you have a promotional magnet for your sf/f (or related) book and want to take part in this project, send an email to arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com with the subject “Book Magnet Project.” Help me cover my fridge!

Scroll to Top